Sister Ray's Mercury Prize Picks: Leo
I jest.
Long-time fan of Pharoah Sanders and big fan of early Floating Points so was excited to hear this collaboration. My enduring memory of Sanders is me relaxing to one of his more…adventurous…records when my wife came up from work to make a sandwich. She looked at me with pure bemusement and said “is THIS what you listen to when I’m not here?!?”.
While the pairing don’t quite go into the level of abstraction that sows marital disharmony on this release, it is a bold step forward for Shepherd and a brilliant introduction for new listeners to Pharoah Sanders’ unique and exhilarating oeuvre.
Split into nine movements, the continuous, flowing piece leaves ample space for Sander’s distinctive sax improvisation underpinned by a repeating piano motif, splashes of synth and swelling strings that alternate between uplifting melody and tense counterpoint. The synthesiser becomes more prominent as the kind of pretty ambient soundscapes that Floating Points has more recently explored come to the forefront and signal a lively contribution from the sax-man.
I was chuffed to see this release so popular in the shop. Keep your eye out for the vinyl repress coming on August 20th and pre-order here.